Known systems and methods for replicating information from a host system to a user's mobile data communication device are typically “synchronization” systems in which the user's data items are warehoused (or stored) at the host system for an indefinite period of time and then transmitted in bulk only in response to a user request. In these types of systems and methods, when replication of the warehoused data items to the mobile device is desired, the user typically places the mobile device in an interface cradle that is electrically connected to the host system via some form of local, dedicated communication, such as a serial cable or an infrared or other type of wireless link. Software executing on the mobile data communication device then transmits commands via the local communications link to the host system to cause the host to begin transmitting the user's data items for storage in a memory bank of the mobile device. In these synchronization schemes, the mobile unit “pulls” the warehoused information from the host system in a batch each time the user desires to replicate information between the two devices. Therefore, the two systems (host system and device) only maintain the same data items after a user-initiated command sequence that causes the mobile device to download the data items from the host system.
A general problem with these synchronization systems is that the only time that the user data items are replicated between the host system and the mobile data communication device is when the user commands the mobile device to download or pull the user data from the host system. At some later time a new message could be sent to the user, but the user would not receive that message until the next time the user fetches the user data items. Thus, a user may fail to respond to an emergency update or message because the user only periodically synchronizes the system, such as once per day. Other problems with these systems include: (1) the amount of data to be reconciled between the host and the mobile device can become large if the user does not “synchronize” on a daily or hourly basis, leading to bandwidth difficulties, particularly when the mobile device is communicating via a wireless packet-switched network; and (2) reconciling large amounts of data, as can accrue in these batch-mode synchronization systems, can require a great deal of communication between the host and the mobile device, thus leading to a more complex, costly and energy-inefficient system.
In order to address such disadvantages of pull-based data item synchronization systems, the assignee of the instant application has developed a more automated, continuous, efficient and reliable system and method of ensuring that user data items are replicated at a user's mobile communication device. User-selected data items or certain portions of the selected data items stored at a host system are continuously redirected or “pushed” to a user's mobile data communication device upon the occurrence of a user-defined triggering event.
In such an automated and continuous redirection system, a user is preferably able to configure device and redirection settings according to personal preferences. When the host system and device are provided for employee use in a corporate environment and primarily for business purposes however, a corporate information technology (IT) department may wish to set certain guidelines for such settings, for example to require that a password be established by a user to prevent unauthorized use of a device or access to information stored on a device, to enable or disable certain device features, to prevent a user from resetting certain default settings, to control the types of data items that can be selected for redirection from the host system to a mobile communication device, or to limit the conditions under which data items are redirected to a mobile communication device. In known systems, these guidelines tend to be established at initial installation of a redirection system and are difficult to update, modify and enforce. Furthermore, settings for mobile communication devices and services can normally be controlled only by the owners or operators of communication systems in which mobile communication devices are adapted to operate, not by a client or service provider.